SPOILER ALERT:  I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY THE ENDING!  I finished the follow-up to The Rosary Girls:  The Skin Gods by Richard Montanari.  I read this novel because I was mad at the previous novel for inserting a totally ridiculous twist at the end of the novel.  I wanted to see if Montanari redeemed himself by... Continue Reading →

I read Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson over the weekend.  The first thing I noticed was the difference in the characters she focused on in this story.  Normally, Anderson's main characters are your average, everyday, middle-class teenagers.  In this story, she focuses on a high school in South Philly. Here, teenagers have all the usual teenage troubles.  Friendship, love,... Continue Reading →

I'm reading another Karen Rose novel,  Don't Tell.  This is one of her earlier novels, and I can tell.  The characters aren't quite as rich, the plot not quite as neat, as her recent books.  This story has me thinking about identity.  Is it something you are born with, dictated by your genes and upbringing?  Is... Continue Reading →

You know the saying: "Can't always get what you want."  That should have been the title of The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford.  Originally, Ford had titled this book "The Saddest Story," but he was told to change the title.  Personally, I think the original title was much more fitting.An excerpt: "Well, it is all... Continue Reading →

I have a hard time writing dialogue, and often feel like my characters are a little flat.  But, I'm starting to feel better about that.  I keep reading novels that have bigger issues than mine that managed to get published anyway!  I finished another book, Silence the Whispers by Cait London.  Again, the plot was... Continue Reading →

Oh, the '80s!  I read Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown.  This is another of her early romance novels, written under the name Rachel Ryan.  In this novel, we don't have Tarzan and Jane.  This time Brown paired a minister with a nude model.  Of course they met when their parents (both widowed) got married. ... Continue Reading →

SPOILER ALERT!!!  If you have any intention of reading The Rosary Girls, you shouldn't read this post!  I finished the novel and was forced to shake my head in disgust.  All along, this was a very "realistic" novel- this could have been a real series of crimes, investigated by real people.  Suddenly, near the end of... Continue Reading →

I'm currently about 300 pages into The Rosary Girls by Richard Montanari.  The story so far is good.  Catholic school girls murdered and posed in the act of prayer.  But I am having a character issue.The main characters are the two homicide detective looking for the killer.  Byrne, the male of the duo, is just not a... Continue Reading →

Ah, the love affair continues...  I just finished  Kill For Me by Karen Rose.  This was book three of a trilogy.  I am still impressed by her ability to weave a story across three novels and not have anything feel forced or out of place.  My only complaint is that it is over.  The story... Continue Reading →

Finished another book by Laurie Halse Anderson.  This time it was Catalyst.  What do you do when you put all of your eggs in one basket and the basket blows up?  Kate is an MIT legacy and knows that is the college she is meant to go to.  So it's the only college she applies... Continue Reading →